Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has used his first official phone call with his new South Korean counterpart to call on Seoul to oppose “decoupling” and to pursue an independent foreign policy.
In his call with Cho Hyun on Monday, Wang urged South Korea to promote a “stable, sustainable and predictable” China policy and to deepen pragmatic cooperation, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said the two ministers spoke for about 45 minutes, reaffirming their shared commitment to advancing the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership in a “steady and mature” manner.
“They agreed to work together to ensure that the upcoming Apec summit in Gyeongju serves as a new turning point in bilateral ties and to deliver tangible outcomes in practical cooperation that can be felt by the peoples of both countries,” Yonhap reported, citing South Korea’s foreign ministry.
Beijing seeks to reset its ties with the newly installed leadership in Seoul under President Lee Jae-myung.
Ties between Beijing and Seoul have begun to thaw since Lee, widely viewed as a China dove, assumed office on June 4, succeeding his US-leaning predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol, who fell from grace following a failed attempt to impose martial law.
